Underground Budapest: Caverns, churches and Cold War bunkers

Secret world beneath Hungarian capital – A maze of cavern networks lurks beneath the hills of Budapest. Many caves are open to the public for tours or guided spelunking adventures.

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Mattyas Hill caves – The longest cave system in Hungary is located under the Mattyas Hill. A small part of the complex is open to adventurous tourists and geologists training to explore more inaccessible caverns.

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Gellert Hill cave – In the 1920s, the Gellert Hill cave was used by a group of Pauline monks who built an entrance inspired by similar rock constructions in Lourdes, France. It was a chapel and a monastery between 1926 and 1951.

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Danube landmark – Opposite one of Budapest's famous spas, the Gellert Hill cave overlooks the Danube river. According to legend, the cave was occupied by a hermit centuries ago.

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Castle Hill Labyrinth – After 6 p.m. it's lights out down in the Labyrinth. Each tour team is given a gas lantern and has to navigate their way around the pitch black caves.

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The Hospital in the Rock – Located beneath Castle Hill, one local cave was used as a hospital in World War II. Conditions were cramped and the air was nearly unbearable due to the number of patients.

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Uprising role – During the wartime Soviet Siege of Budapest, doctors and nurses treated thousands of casualties here. The hospital also operated during the Hungarian Uprising in 1956.

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Beneath Buda Castle Hill – The former hospital is hidden among nearly six miles of natural caves and tunnels located directly below Buda Castle Hill.

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Cold War bunker – Under the shadow of the Cold War in 1958, the former hospital was expanded into a nuclear bunker, which could be used in a chemical or nuclear attack.

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Story highlights

Hills under the Hungarian capital are riddled with caves, many formed by water from the city's spas

Many of the caves are open to the public, with guided tours and spelunking expeditions

Subterranean attractions include a former hospital, a Cold War bunker and a church

The Hapsburg Palaces, romantic banks of the Danube and historic spas draw the crowds to Budapest, but there's a whole world underground within the city limits.

Literally underground.

While one half of the city, Pest, is flat, Buda's curvy hills are rich with secret labyrinths, hidden bunkers and caving adventures.

There are up to 200 caves in total.

Budapest's subterranean world owes its debt to the city's spas, or rather their water, which has carved out a network of caverns.